The present disclosure relates to the field of medical equipment, particularly to a method and apparatus for selecting scanning voltages of a dual energy Computed Tomography (CT) scanning.
Compared to single energy CT scanning, dual energy CT scanning typically functions better in distinguishing different materials.
For example, under the scanning voltage of 120 kV, the difference between the CT values of bone and iodine is relatively small. However, when under the scanning voltage of 80 kV, the difference is relatively large. Further analysis shows that under the scanning voltage of 70 kV or below, the difference between bone and iodine is even larger. On the other hand, as the scanning voltage is decreased, due to limitations of scanning capability of the system, noise in the image may grow larger and thus, may degrade the quality of the image.
Therefore, it may be desirable to develop a method of automatically selecting an optimal combination of high and low energy scanning voltages to guarantee the distinction of materials and image quality.
NEUSOFT MEDICAL SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (NMS), founded in 1998 with its world headquarters in China, is a leading supplier of medical equipment, medical IT solutions, and healthcare services. NMS supplies medical equipment with a wide portfolio, including CT, MRI, digital X-ray machines, Ultrasound, PET (Positron Emission Tomography), Linear Accelerators, and Biochemistry Analysers. Currently, NMS' products are exported to over 60 countries and regions around the globe, serving more than 5,000 renowned customers. NMS′latest successful developments, such as the 128 Multi-Slice CT Scanner System, Superconducting MRI, Linear Accelerator, and PET products, have led China to become a global high-end medical equipment producer. As an integrated supplier with extensive experience in large medical equipment, NMS is committed to the study of avoiding secondary potential harm caused by excessive X-ray irradiation to the subject during the CT scanning process.